Artificial tooth



T. FLINTOFF.

ARTIFICIAL TOOTH. 7 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 191B.

Patented Sept. 13,1921.

ATTY5.

THOMAS FLINTOFF, or CLAREMONT, PERTH, WEs'rERN AUSTRALIA; AUSTRALIA.-

AaTIFIoIAI. roorn.

Specification of Letters 1atent.-

Patented s ptic), rear,

Application filed Septcmber 1 2,19 18. Serial No. 253,707.

7 Commonwealth of Australia, have invented new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Artificial Teeth, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the manufacture of artificial teeth and more particularly those designed for attachment to vulcanite and equivalent dental plates bymetal keys or devices connected to said teethby clovetail or equivalent grooves, and embedded or to be embedded in'; the substance of the plates, the said dovetail connection admitting of relative adjustment between the keys and teeth to enable the V bite to be readily and conveniently regulated during the manufacture of the dentures. a a

It has heretofore been proposed that the above-named metal keys or devices (which, for convenience are hereinafter referred to only as keys) be made of sheet metal bent into channel form to fit the dovetail grooves,

and be provided with fingers adapted to be embedded in the material of which the plates are made, and with other fingersadaptcd to engage with lateral recesses in the teeth with sufficient play to admit of the beforementioned relative adjustment between keysand teeth. 1

For convenience of description it is herein assumed that the material of which the plates are composed, is vulcanite, but it is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to dental plates formed of materials equivalent to vulcanite, such as celluloid, and to such dental plates as are formed partly or mainly of metal to which the teeth are attached or to be attached by vulcanite or its equivalent; for that reason it is to be understood that wherever in this specification the word vulcanite occurs and the context'admits of it, that word is to be read as including vulcanite as well as its equivalents.

The before particularized construction would involve the bending of the fingers by the dentist, preparatory to the attachment of the teeth to the then plastic vulcanite, and this would absorb considerable time and call for considerable care inasmuch as such bending might possibly result in chipping or abreast. of each other.

breaking of the teeth. Moreover, the manu-ffacture of these teeth would not give entirely satisfactory results from a commercial point of, view owing to it involving the necessity of supplying the keys of different lengths to suitthe various types or classes of teeth to be fitted. I

'- The present invention aims at overcoming the. foregoing difficulties by providing a metal key structure in a form which readily admits of its being cut into lengths suitable to the particular requirements of the respective teeth.

The invention will now be described by referenceto the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a vertical sectionofa portion of a-jdenture fitted with one of the improved teeth; f v 1 Fig; 2 is a rear-elevation :of the tooth shown in Fig. 1, detached from the plate;

1 Figs. 3 and a are horizontalsectionstaken respectively on the lines 3- 3 and liof Fig 2, and r F gs. 5 and 6 are perspective views re- .spectively showingtwo different forms-of the before-mentioned key structure.

Like reference letters are used to indicate the same parts in all figures of the drawings. Each tooth a according to the present 'inventlon, is formed with a dovetail or equivalent groove 6 which does not extend to the bitlng edge 0. Preferably the groove?) is" open at the enddirected toward thenon-- bltlflg edge and closed at theopposite end;

it. is, however, to be understoodthat the in-v ventionis not limited to the arrangement of groove represented in the drawings asthat i groove may be open at either end or, indeed, at both ends if desired; 4

The dovetail groove 6, atlitswidest part, is of such width as to accommodate the fiat part or back d of a key with sufiicient loose-- ness to admit of the said key beingv freelymoved longitudinally within the groove, in

which latter the key is retained by the inwardly extending edges ofthe said groove,

as shown best in Figs. 3 and 4.

Each key comprises, besides a back d, as

just described, a plurality of pins or studs d by which the respective tooth becomes anchored to the dental plate; that represented in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 has two such studs which, in the arrangement illustrated, are The studs 03 v are rigidly attached to (as byhard soldering).

back being preferably such as will admit of that portion being inserted in the groove Z) with the studs either abreast of each other as shown in Fig.2, or one above the other, according to the particular requirements of the respective tooth.

In thearrangement shown in Fig. 6, the studs 6Z1 are provided in pairs alined all in a single row, and the individual keys may be formed by cutting the back (Z transversely between adjacent pairs.

It will be found most convenient to have the back d of a width suitable for sliding freely into the groove 5, and to have the studs 03 so located thereon that each severed portion will have a pair or plurality of such studs and will be capable of being slipped into the groove 5 with any of its.

edges foremost so that the studs thereon may be alined either transversely or longitudinally of the groove. The present invention however also includes the provision of a metal key structure in sheet form that is to say a form which, for separation into independent keys, would involve cutting in two directions at an angle to each other, and it is to be understood that thefollowing claims are intended to cover that par ticular structure. In'all cases, the dimensions of the back d of each independent key must be such that the back may be moved longitudinally within the groove 5. without either protruding through the open end or contacting with the closed end of the groove.

By reference more'particularly to Figs. 2 and 4, it will be seen that the tooth a is formed with two lateral recesses e, branching out from the dovetail groove 5, as has heretofore been proposed for the purpose of receiving part of the vulcanite f, Fig. 1, and

thereby afl'ording increased anchorage between the said tooth and vulcanite. By further reference to figure 1, it will be seen that the two studs 02 are completely embedded in the vulcanite 7 which also penetrates into the groove 5 so as to completely fill those parts of the latter which are not occupied by the back 01.

Having described my invention, I declare that what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 2-- 1. The combination". with an artificial tooth having a groove of dovetail cross section extending longitudinally therein and having an open end directed toward the nonbiting edge of the tooth, of a fiat metal back adapted to be slid Within the dovetail groove and on which the tooth is adjustable to regulate the bite, and studs rigid on the metal back extending outward from the groove, the length of the groove being greater than-the measurement in the same direction of the metal back so that regula tion of the bite can be eiiected by adjusting the tooth relatively to the back without the latter being caused to protrude through the open end or to contact with the closed end of the groove.

2. The combination with an artificial tooth having a groove extending longitudinally therein and openingat one end toward the non-biting edge of the tooth, of recesses branching laterally from the groove, intermediate the ends of the latter, a fiat metal back engaging with the dovetail groove, the tooth and metal back being relatively movable toregulate the bite without disengag' ing the groove and back, and studs rigid on the back extending outward from the groove. v a

3. As a new article of manufacture for use in the production of artificial teeth, a flat sheet metal back plane on one side and on the other side having a plurality of anchoring studs rigid thereon, the said back being adapted to be cut into a plurality of individual keyseach comprising a flat back adapted to fit within a groove in a tooth and a plurality of the said studs projectin from the back at points intermediate the edges thereof andadapted to be embedded in the material of which a dentalplate is composed.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

THOMAS FLINTOFF. 

